The Chief Programs Officer for OPERA America, Laura Lee Everett has more than two decades of experience in opera production management, collaborating with some of the most renowned artists in contemporary opera. She has produced the Opera America Songbook (50 commissioned songs for the opening of the National Opera Center), created the programming series Onstage at the Opera Center and developed the Opera Grants for Female Composers programs. In 2015, she launched the Women’s Opera Network, which leads programs addressing gender parity in the arts. She serves on the Management Commission for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), encouraging technicians to pursue careers in opera. Everett oversees networks for technical/production, artist training, artistic administration and new American works across the world of opera.
Her training as a singer and pianist has fueled her passion for mentoring young artists and nurturing the creation of new opera. Prior to her post at OPERA America, Everett spent 10 years as the managing director at the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland and eight seasons with the Aspen Opera Theater Center, as well as working on new operas with many of today’s most prolific composers and librettists.